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Ambulances get new heart device

ALL frontline ambulances are to be fitted with the latest heart attack machines as part of a £5m plan to save hundreds of lives.

Critically ill heart patients will be given a more accurate diagnosis using the new defibrillators, allowing paramedics to administer life-saving drugs more quickly.

More than 2,200 lives have already been saved since 1988 using an older version of the machine. It is hoped the new devices — which will be fitted in all 450 ambulances by the end of May — will further improve survival rates from heart attacks in Scotland.

Coronary heart disease affects about 500,000 Scots and causes 12,000 deaths a year. Glasgow has the unenviable record of being the heart disease capital of Europe as a result of smoking, poverty and poor diet.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said: “They are not just shock boxes. They will allow paramedics to get far more information. It will